What’s next for British buses: Prayer Rugs?

British buses to run ads, ‘Subhan Allah’ (‘glory be to god’), after cinemas banned Lord’s Prayer ads last Christmas.

According to The Daily Mail, hundreds of British buses will run ads for the “charity,” Islamic Relief, stating, “Subhan Allah,” which means “glory be to god” in Arabic. The ads will run in June, to coincide with Ramadan, on buses following transport lines in London, Manchester, Leicester, Birmingham, and Bradford.

All of these cities have high Islamic populations; half of all Islamists living in Britain live in London. Londoners just elected its first Islamic mayor, Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver.

Islamic Relief claims the ads will help to raise funds for victims of the Syrian war (being killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)), and hopes to “portray Islam in a positive light.” The goal is to “change the perception of Islam. The campaign is about breaking down barriers and challenging misconceptions.”

Nothing could be more ironic or troubling.

Christian groups rightly point out that last December the Church of England was prohibited from mentioning Jesus at Christmastime when the nation’s largest cinema chains banned a one minute video showing the Archbishop of Canterbury praying The Lord’s Prayer. Odeon, Cineworld, and Vue refused to run the Lord’s Prayer film, which was supposed to run prior to the Star Wars screening, because they “didn’t want to offend movie-goers.”

To clarify: during Christmas (the celebration of the birth of Jesus, which has been recognized for thousands of years and is the basis for the entire western calendar), a prayer first recited by Jesus, about Jesus, could not be publicized.

The Christian Institute’s Simon Calvert, told The Daily Mail,

“Audiences are capable of hearing expressions of Christian faith without running away screaming in horror.”

And, former Tory MP, Ann Widdecombe, told The Mail, “If other religions are allowed to put their religious banners up, then so should Christians.”

But they both miss the point. There is a significant difference between cinema ads and bus ads.

The cinemas are not owned by the government. The buses are. The buses are part of each respective city’s transportation system, funded by taxpayers. More importantly, the Transport for London (TfL), an organization Khan would be overseeing as mayor, can ban ads on buses if they are linked to a “political party or political cause.”

In light of the fact that Islam and the war in Syria are both political, and Khan is an Islamist, TfL won’t be enforcing this policy. And, once again, taxpayers are forced to pay for their own discrimination.

Bethany Blankley is a political analyst for Fox News Radio and has appeared on television and radio programs nationwide. She writes about political, cultural, and religious issues in America from the perspective of an evangelical and former communications staffer. She was a communications strategist for four U.S. Senators, one U.S. Congressman, a former New York governor, and several non-profits. She earned her MA in Theology from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland and her BA in Political Science from the University of Maryland. Follow her @bethanyblankley facebook.com/BlankleyBethany/ & BethanyBlankley.com.